R.A.C.E.S.

by jarmari

The Elements of Awesome

The Elements of Awesome
One hour until race time

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash both stood by their racer in the bay, waiting for the return of their third team mate, Applejack. She had run back to Sweet Apple Acres, saying she had forgotten something vitally important to the race.

“What could she have forgotten?” Twilight asked, “I made a check list of everything we needed! What could I have possibly missed?”

“Calm down, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash laughed, “You worry too much! At least Applejack remembered whatever it is that you missed.”

“But if I forgot one thing…” Twilight started, thinking to herself carefully, “That means that I could have forgotten something else!”

Dash rolled her eyes, as Twilight frantically pulled out a scroll from her bag, and read it over, hoping that whatever she could have missed, would suddenly come to her.

“Applejack had better hurry up!” Dash said, ignoring the frantic Twilight next to her, “I mean, it’s not like I need her here to help us win! I could do that with one wing tied behind my back!”

Twilight ignored Dash, as she ran through the list again and again, loudly murmuring to herself.

“She just needs to be here, so we qualify!” Dash continued, “We need three ponies to be allowed to compete!”

Derpy walked through the wagon storage bays, deciding offering a muffin to her fellow racers would be a sign of good faith.

However, as she approached Twilight and Rainbow Dash, she saw them both engrossed in conversations with themselves.
Rainbow was jumping up and down whilst flapping her wings, and having a conversation with particularly no one.

Twilight would levitate something out of their cart, talk to herself, and then put it back down. She repeated this several times, with the same objects.

Slowly backing away, Derpy decided not to interrupt whatever it was that was happening. Celestia forbid she get sucked in to it somehow.

“Well,” Twilight said, feeling completely defeated, “I don’t know what I possibly could have missed.”

“Don’t worry about it, Twilight!” Dash said again, “We could win without half that stuff you packed!”

“You’re saying that we DON’T need these umbrellas?” Twilight asked, levitating three hat/umbrellas out of the kart, and giving Dash a very serious look.

Gulping, Dash decided not to have the fight. Twilight had her lists, and interfering with that would probably not bode well for her.

“All right!” Applejack called, running back to her team mates, “Ah’m ready to race!”
“Where have you been?” Rainbow Dash whined.

“What did I forget to put on the list?” Twilight asked frantically.

“Uh… List?” Applejack asked, scratching the back of her head.

“Never mind,” Rainbow cut in, “What was so important, that you had to run home for?”

“Why, for mah’ lucky hat!” Applejack smiled, leaning down, and showing off a hat that looked no different from her usual one.

“But… that’s your normal hat…” Dash said, still studying it, looking for some kind of difference.

“I got so upset over that?” Twilight sighed, “How is it vital?”

“It just is!” Applejack huffed, not enjoying being attacked by her friends.

“Yeah yeah,” Dash rolled her eyes, “Don’t throw a hissy fit.”

“Looks like we have some trouble in paradise!” A voice said from behind the cart.

Behind them, stood three changelings, that made of the team: “The Changelings.”

The team was made up of one mare, and two stallions… If that’s what you called them.

The two stallions were indistinguishable from one another, simply being black ponies with solid blue eyes, and transparent blue wings. And of course, they were covered in holes. Something that neither Applejack, Twilight, nor Rainbow Dash were particularly comfortable seeing.

The mare was bit different from the stallions they had seen. She had a much more feminine figure, and instead of the blue color that accented the male’s bodies, she had a pink color. Her mane was also much less broken than the stallions had been. It hung down her neck, and shared the same pink color with her eyes and wings.

“What are you doing here?” Dash asked rudely, looking at the three in front of her, “Don’t you have a kingdom to invade or something?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight cut in, “Show some respect! They’re here as a goodwill gesture from Chrysalis herself!”
“That doesn’t mean we want to be here!” One of the guys said.

“Especially after the last time we saw you!” The other one continued.

“Y’all have seen us before…?” Applejack asked, confused.

“You hit me in the face!” One said to Rainbow Dash.

“And you blasted me with a beam of magic!” The other accused Twilight.

“Shut up you two!” The female finally spoke up, “The last thing we need is everypony here thinking we’re a team of whiners!”
They shut up.

“Uh… It’s nice to meet you…” Twilight said, stepping off her cart, and approaching the mare, “My name is Twilight Sparkle. You are…?”

“My name is Lilith,” She said, obviously indifferent to meeting Twilight, “These two are my subordinates. We call them ‘the Andies.’”

“Well its nice tuh meet y’all,” Applejack smiled, despite her mixed feelings toward them.

“Why are you called… Andies?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” One said, rather smugly.

“They’re probably both named Andrew,” Twilight said to her friends.

“They said you were good,” Lilith rolled her eyes.

“How do you distinguish the two of them…?” Dash asked, “You both look exactly the same.

“You think we all look the same?” Andy asked, “That’s not totally racist.”

Lilith sighed impatiently, “Their names are spelt differently. That’s how I can tell the difference.”

“That would only help if we were reading their names, and nopony around here is reading!” Dash shot back, not liking her tone.

“Come on,” Lilith said, gesturing to her team mates, “We’ve checked them out, let’s go finish getting ready.”

Dash wanted to shout at them as they walked away, but decided against it, opting instead for a quiet growl.

“Have fun losing the race,” Andy said as he walked away.

“Yeah!” Andie agreed, “What he said!”

“Shut it!” Lilith shouted again.

“They’re quite… nice…” Twilight said, perturbed over their encounter.

“You can say that again,” Applejack agreed, “You’d think the queen would have a sent a friendlier group of ponies!”

“You don’t think they’re here for some other reason… Do you?” Dash asked suddenly.

“What do you mean…?” Twilight asked.

“What if they’re spies?!” She over-dramatized, leaping up on her hind hoofs.

Twilight rolled her eyes, and stepped back into the cart, “Let’s just finish our last few checks here.”

“Fine!” Dash sighed, “But don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

“If they turn out to be spies, I’ll make sure to credit you, Dash.” Twilight said, getting back to work.

Applejack simply hoped that she wasn’t going to have to fight any more Changelings. Beating up another version of yourself is a very uncomfortable experience.

Author's Note:

This chapter by The King of Hearts

Comments

[LightStriker]

Tabulation! Double spacing! Please!

[lipah33]

2596427
No, I don't think they are an item. We really hadn't planned on this story having romance in it. At least not yet! I hope that's okay!

But we are continuing!

[The King of Hearts]

2657671

I double space all my work. The extra space was probably lost in the PM, and then the copy-paste from there to the chapter itself. You don't need to make any faces.

Just say it nicely.

[LightStriker]

2666726 I did say "please".